Not J&K, Pakistan needs referendum: Rajnath Singh

Highlights

Pakistani authorities who speak in favour of a referendum in Kashmir better conduct it first on their own soil to know what their people really want: Rajnath

Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had said Kashmir is the "core dispute" between India and Pakistan

Rajnath Singh

HARIDWAR: Union home minister Rajnath Singh said on Sunday that Pakistan must refrain from demanding a plebiscite in Jammu & Kashmir. “If at all a referendum is required, it is needed in Pakistan, where people should be asked whether they want to continue in Pakistan or are demanding the country’s merger with India,” Singh said at a public rally near Haridwar.

“India has always rooted for peaceful relations, but Islamabad repeatedly tries to disrupt the relationship. There is an urgent need to stop terrorists operating from there, and those who are asking for a referendum on Kashmir,” he added. He said India’s surgical strike in POK “sent out a clear message to the world at large about the capability of our defence forces”.” (With agency inputs)